Voodoo Logic D9C

test

2012-05-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

Get Your Wannabe Superhero Ass in the Car
from Kick-Ass (2010, Lionsgate)

00:01 | 00:02

Software to fix anything

2010-12-29T10:50:00.000-08:00

This comes from superuser.com by way of StumbleUpon. The user is fluxtendu and his list is pretty comprehensive.

Original post here

_______________________________

So, here is my list:

Note: feel free to add your tools to my list. If it's an alternative, please don't replace mine, add a sub-list started by "alt:" and say why do you prefer this one.

Boot-cd/usb key

Ubcd4win create a (custom) live cd that contains software used for repairing, restoring, or diagnosing almost any computer problem.
- alt: Microsoft Emergency Repair Disk: a system rescue disk PE environment with advanced recovery tools like resetting passwords, hard drive repair, offline registry editing, file explorer, command prompt, etc. Only available to Software Assurance and MSDN subscribers, as part of the Desktop Optimization Pack. If you're a student, may be available to you through MSDNAA.
Offline NT Password & Registry Editor reset windows password
- alt: Ophcrack (sort-of) brute-force windows password (if they are EFS encrypted files)
CloneZilla disk imaging backup
GParted partition editor
Stresslinux minimal linux with tools to monitoring hardware health: stress, cpuburn, hddtemp, lm_sensors, memtest86+, ...
- alt: Memtest86+ RAM tester (don't need command line)
Hard Drive Manufacturers diagnostic tools: fujitsu / hitachi / samsung / western digital / seagate (maxtor)
Spinrite low level hard disk recovery (89$)
- alt: HDD Regenerator (40$)

Kits

Sysinternals suite (1=included in this suite) a great set of tools by Sysinternals (so great that MS bought them)
NirLauncher (2=included in this suite) another great set of tools by NirSoft integrated in a launcher (that could be used easily with sysinternals suite too)
GnuWin32 port of the most important GNU utilities to Windows (command-line)

Remote control

Teamviewer all-in-one solution for remote access and support over the Internet. Easy (don't have to open ports on firewall/router), secure, and full featured.
- alt: UltraVNC: less convenient but open source and free even in a professional environment

Anti-malware

Avira (use rescue disk or the one included in ubcd4win) and/or Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool
- alt: Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware / SpyBot - Search & Destroy / DrWeb Cure It / AVZ / a-Squared Emergency USB Stick
Microsoft Security Essentials or Avira (a little bit better but contains nag screen) -to install
- alt: Avast / AVG
- alt not freeware: Norton Internet Security (70$/year) / Kaspersky Internet Security (60$/year) / Eset Smart Security (48€/year) / PC Tools Internet Security (50€/year)
System Explorer lists processes, startups, services, drivers... Check them with it's own database, VirusTotal or Jotti services. Snapshots before/after for registry/disk changes
RootkitRevealer(1) anti-rootkit
- alt: Gmer more powerfull (but harder to use) anti-rootkit
Virus Effect Remover Repair/Fix damaged items like TaskManager, RegEditor, Folder Options, Windows AutoUpdate.

Startup Tools

Autoruns(1) the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup monitor
- alt: RunAlyzer edit an external registry hive (used easily from a boot cd)

Process Tools

Process Explorer(1) detailed process, handles & dll informations
Process Monitor(1) real-time file system, registry and process/thread activity
Svchost analyzer lists all svchost instances and checks the services they contain

Registry Tools

Registrar registry manager (lite) advanced registry manager
- alt: Reg
Eusing free registry defrag

Backup Tools

DriveImage XML disk imaging (shadow copy)
Cobian Backup automated backup -to install
Toucan on-demand backup
ERUNT registry backup
SingleClickRestorePoint
Netprofiles save & restore network profiles
SoftKey Revealer licence keys backup
All Nirsoft password tools(2) passwords backup

File Tools

Everything quick searching
- alt: AstroGrep for non-ntfs drive
Recuva recover delete files
RichCopy advanced copy tool
- alt Unstoppable Copier copy files from broken hd
FileASSASSIN advanced delete (remove handle or delete at reboot)
- alt: Delete Doctor delete with short DOS name or UNC name
- alt: DelinvFiles same as delete doctor, but can scan the drive for invalid file names and from my experience it was successful where delete doctor wasn't. But it's a shareware: 26.95$
WinDirStat: graphical view of hardrive space usage
- alt: SpaceSniffer nicer interface
- alt: SequoiaView
WinMerge folders/files comparison
Hashcalc md5,sha,crc32 checksum
TrIDnet file identifier

Disk Tools

Drive Manager
MyDefragPowerGUI featured (& free) defragmenter
Easeus Partition Master (home edition) partition manager
HDTune hd scan & S.M.A.R.T. info
- alt: Active@ HD Monitor freeware more featured, but not portable
TestDisk designed to help recover lost partitions and/or make non-booting disks bootable again
ddrescue copies data from one file or block device (hard disc, cdrom, etc) to another, trying hard to rescue data in case of read errors.

Hardware Tools

IntelBurnTest test cpu
FurMark test gpu
Eizo Monitor Test fine-tune your monitor
Pixel Doctor locate and fix LCD screens dead pixels

Drivers Tools

DoubleDriver backup/restore drivers
DPC Latency Checker real-time drop-outs graph
DeviceRemover (very) advanced device manager

Cleaning Tools

RevoUninstaller uninstaller that help to remove leftovers (without the need of monitoring install)
CCleaner remove unused and temporary files
PC Decrapifier remove or uninstall a specific list of unwanted software
JavaRa removes old and redundant versions of the Java Runtime Environment

Network Tools

NetWorx bandwidth meter
- alt: NetMeter the live graph looks better but is a little less featured and have some instabilities on w7
NetResView(2) lists all network resources (computers, disk shares, and printer shares) on your LAN
CurrPorts(2) lists all currently opened TCP/IP and UDP ports and the processes that opened them
AS3 Personal Firewall portable firewall
eToolz gui for NS-Lookup, Ping, TraceRoute and Whois
Performance Pinging graph ping
Wireshark network protocol analyzer
Secunia PSI vulnerability scanning
SG TCP Optimizer (XP) (re)set & optimize tcp parameters

Misc

System Info for Windows (aka SIW) gives a ton of information about the system, including installed software, hardware configuration, license keys, and network info. Free for non-commercial use; $70 for "technician's license".
SUMo software updater tool
BlueScreenView(2) crash dump analysis
ShellExView(2) shell extensions manager
Whyreboot lists reboot "pending file operations"
XP Quick Fix Plus 40 common Windows XP problems fixes
7 Quick Fix 21 common Windows 7 problems fixes
thewindowsclub.com fix tools: FixWin (50 common 7/vista annoyances), Fix IE (internet explorer), Fix MSE (ms security essential), Fix WU (windows update), Fix WMP (windows media player), File Association Fixer
GodMode creator (7/Vista) create easy shortcuts to almost every settings & informations (CLSID folders)
Print Service Manager easily kill stucked print jobs
Filmerit directshow filter manager

And some other essential tools, but not directly related, like notepad++, autohotkey, firefox (and its bookmarks)...

Most of these tools are portable and free (at least for personal use) and yes it's only the essentials one ;)

And if you want more security related software: Gizmo's Best Free Security List (by Antti Koponen)

ghostery to privatize your browsing

2010-11-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

Every time you see a "like" button for face book on a non-facebook page, facebook is gaining access to what you are viewing via the javascript made to produce that button. Privatize your browsing super easy by installing ghostery.

A couple of cool programmer quotes

2010-09-08T00:46:00.000-07:00

Nobody should start to undertake a large project. You start with a small trivial project, and you should never expect it to get large. If you do, you'll just overdesign and generally think it is more important than it likely is at that stage. Or worse, you might be scared away by the sheer size of the work you envision. So start small, and think about the details. Don't think about some big picture and fancy design. If it doesn't solve some fairly immediate need, it's almost certainly over-designed. And don't expect people to jump in and help you. That's not how these things work. You need to get something half-way useful first, and then others will say "hey, that almost works for me", and they'll get involved in the project.

— Linus Torvalds

Mostly, when you see programmers, they aren't doing anything. One of the attractive things about programmers is that you cannot tell whether or not they are working simply by looking at them. Very often they're sitting there seemingly drinking coffee and gossiping, or just staring into space. What the programmer is trying to do is get a handle on all the individual and unrelated ideas that are scampering around in his head.

— Charles M. Strauss

As soon as we started programming, we found to our surprise that it wasn't as easy to get programs right as we had thought. Debugging had to be discovered. I can remember the exact instant when I realized that a large part of my life from then on was going to be spent in finding mistakes in my own programs.

— Maurice Wilkes discovers debugging, 1949

Designer genes

2010-07-10T05:08:00.001-07:00

Science: They messed with a mouse, and now it wants pussy.

“The mutant female mouse underwent a slightly altered developmental program in the brain to resemble the male brain in terms of sexual preference,” said Professor Chankyu Park, who headed the study.

http://www.365gay.com/news/study-concludes-mice-can-be-turned-lesbian/

This news is fresh, I'm gonna process this. I'd love to discuss any views in the comments below.

D9C

Posted via email from Flying Below The Gaydar

Girls

2010-06-26T13:28:00.001-07:00

See the full gallery on posterous

It's pride weekend and I'll try to snap some photos of the craziness taking place just outside my door. Until then, here are some photos of attractive chicks.

D9C

Posted via email from Flying Below The Gaydar

Advice to Young Men from an Old Man

2010-05-31T17:25:00.000-07:00

-1Advice to Young Men from an Old Man (original post)

1. Don’t pick on the weak. It’s immoral. Don’t antagonize the strong without
cause, its stupid.
2. Don’t hate women. It’s a waste of time
3. Invest in yourself. Material things come to those that have self actualized.
4. Get in a fistfight, even if you are going to lose.
5. As a former Marine, take it from me. Don’t join the military, unless you want
to risk getting your balls blown off to secure other people’s economic or
political interests.

6. If something has a direct benefit to an individual or a class of people, and a theoretical, abstract, or amorphous benefit to everybody else, realize that the proponent’s intentions are to benefit the former, not the latter, no matter what bullshit they try to feed you.

7. Don’t be a Republican. They are self-dealing crooks with no sense of honor or
patriotism to their fellow citizens. If you must be a Republican, don’t be a
“conservative.” They are whining, bitching, complaining, simple-minded self-righteous idiots who
think they’re perpetual victims. Listen to talk radio for a
while, you’ll see what I mean.

8. Don’t take proffered advice without a critical analysis. 90% of all advice is intended to benefit the proponent, not the recipient. Actually, the number is probably closer to 97%, but I don’t want to come off as cynical.
9. You’ll spend your entire life listening to people tell you how much you owe
them. You don’t owe the vast majority of people shit.

10. Don’t undermine your fellow young men. Mentor the young men that come after you. Society
recognizes that you have the potential to be the most power force in society. It scares them.
Society does not find young men sympathetic. They are afraid of you, both individually and
collectively. Law enforcement’s primary purpose is to suppress you.

11. As a young man, you’re on your own. Society divides and conquers. Unlike women who have
advocates looking out for them (NOW, Women’s Study Departments,
government, non-profit organizations, political advocacy groups) almost no one is
looking out for you.

12. Young men provide the genius and muscle by which our society thrives. Look at the Silicone
Valley. By in large, it was not old men or women that created the
revolution we live. Realize that society steals your contributions, secures it
with our intellectual property laws, and then takes credit and the rewards where
none is due.
13. Know that few people have your best interests at heart. Your mother does. Your father
probably does (if he stuck around). Your siblings are on your side.
Everybody else worries about themselves.
14. Don’t be afraid to tell people to “Fuck off” when need be. It is an important
skill to acquire. As they say, speak your piece, even if your voice shakes.

15. Acquire empathy, good interpersonal skills, and confidence. Learn to read body language and non-verbal communication. Don’t just concentrate on your vocational or technical skills, or you’ll find your wife fucking somebody else.
16. Keep fit.

17. Don’t speak ill of your wife/girlfriend. Back her up against the world, even
if she’s wrong. She should know that you have her back. When she needs your help, give it. She
should know that you’ll take her part.

18. Don’t cheat on your wife/girlfriend. If you must cheat, don’t humiliate her.
Don’t risk having your transgressions come back to her or her friends. Don’t do it
where you live. Don’t do it with people in your social circle. Don’t shit in your
own back yard.
19. If your girlfriend doesn’t make you feel good about yourself and bring joy to
your life, fire her. That’s what girlfriends are for.

20. Don’t bother with “emotional affairs.” They are just a vehicle for women to
flirt and have someone make them feel good about themselves. That’s the part of a relationship
they want. For you it is a lot of work and investment in time. If
they are having an emotional affair with you, they’re probably fucking someone
else.

21. Becoming a woman’s friend and confidant is not going to get you into an
intimate relationship. If you haven’t gotten the girl within a reasonably short
period of time, chances are you won’t ever get her. She’ll end up confiding to you
about the sexual adventures she’s having with someone else.
22. Have and nurture friendships with women.

23. Realize that love is a numbers game. Guys fall in love easily. You’re going to
see some girl and feel like you’ll die if you don’t get her. If she rejects you,
move on to the next one. It’s her loss.

24. Don’t be an internet troll. Got out and live life. There is not a cadre of
beautiful women advertising on Craigslist to have NSA sex with you. Beautiful
women don’t need to advertise. The websites that advertise with attractive women’s photos and
claims of loneliness are baloney. All they want is your money and your personal information so
that they can market to you. The posts on Craigslist by young “women” seeking NSA sex, and
asking for a picture are just a bunch of gay troll pic collectors. This is especially true if the post
uses common gay lexicon like “hole” as in “fuck my hole” or seeks “masculine” men, or uses the
word cock (except in the context of “Don’t send a cock shot.”) There are women on Craigslist.
They are easily recognizable by their 2-5 paragraph postings. Most are in their 30's or older.

25. When you become a man in full, know that people will get in your way. People who are
attracted to you will somehow manage to step in your path. Gay guys will give you “the look.” Old
people will somehow stumble in front of you at the worst time. Don’t get frustrated. Just step
aside and go about your business. Know that these are passive aggressive methods to get you to
acknowledge their existence.
26. Don’t hate Jews, and don’t attack Jews, and don’t kill Jews, because the world isn’t going to
be a better place if you kill Jews.

27. Don’t gay bash. Don’t mentally or physically abuse people because of who they are, or how
they present themselves. It’s none of your business to try to
intimidate people into conformity.

28. If your gay, admit it to yourself, your parents, your friends and society at
large. Be prepared to get harassed. See rule 14. If someone threatens you or
assaults you, call the cops. Have them arrested. You have no obligation to self
sacrifice because of who you are. As a gay person, you’ll have more social freedom than straight
men. Use it to protect yourself. Be prepared to get out of Dodge if your orientation makes your life
unbearable. Move to San Francisco, New York, Atlanta, or New Orleans. You’ll find a welcoming
community there.

29. Don’t be a poser. Avoid being one of those dudes who puts a surfboard on top of their car, but never surfs, or a dude with a powder coated fixed gear bike and a messenger bag, but was never a messenger. Live the life. Earn your bona fides.

30. Don’t believe the crap about the patriarchy. More women are accepted and
attend college. More degrees are awarded to women than men. Women outlive men. More men
commit suicide. Men are twice as likely to be victims of violence,
including murder. If you consider sexual assaults in prisons, twice as many men
are raped as women (society thinks prison rape is funny). The streets are littered
with homeless men, sprinkled with a few homeless women. Statically, women are happier than
men. The myth that girls are being cheated by are educational system is belied by the fact that
schools are bastions of femininity, mostly run by and taught by women. Girls outperform boys in
school. It is the boys in school getting fucked over, and prescribed ritalin for being boys. Real
wages for men are falling, while real wages for women are rising. Just because someone says
something enough times, doesn’t make it true. You have nothing to feel guilty
about.
31. Remember, 97% of all advice is worthless. Take what you can use, and trash the rest.

http://www.obediencetraining.webs.com/

Dissing Lady GaGa and other ways of alluding to being straight

2010-05-13T02:06:00.001-07:00

In my experience, it is nearly impossible to go to a bar in the Castro without Lady GaGa being selected in the jukebox . If you find yourself in a bar where men are going "ga ga" -- don't panic. This provides the perfect opportunity to allude to the fact that you like girls. Note: claiming that she is hot does not work! Lady GaGa is rumored to have pheromones coming out of her vagina that can turn gay men straight. Instead, roll your eyes and exclaim, "Ugh, not this chick again!"

Notice the derogatory term, notice the disgruntled scoff. Bar patrons certainly will take notice of your distinct lack of interest in music's new Madonna -- now you're flying below the gaydar. ;)

Counter balance GaGa by selecting some Soundgarden from the jukebox. When it comes on, skull your pint and reminisce with the people around you about how cool it was to have video games with full length tracks like, "Rusty Cage" on titles such as Sega's Road Rash II. For added effect, do this while recreating the technique of punching a cop off his motorcycle.

D9C

Click here to download:

Soundgarden_-_Rusty_Cage_(entire_video_version).flv (9188 KB)

Posted via web from Flying Below The Gaydar

Everything's Amazing, Nobody's Happy

2010-03-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

64 bit flash in Ubuntu Linux

2010-02-18T09:56:00.000-08:00

I've updated the code located on a very useful post to give you this bash script. Open up your favorite text editor and paste the contents below. Save the file and (from the command line) use chmod +x to make it executable. After that, execute the file with: ./yourfilename

This version of 64bit flash allows the use of my USB webcam with Justin.tv - the bleeding edge just got a bit softer!!

#!/bin/bash
# Script created by
# Romeo-Adrian Cioaba romeo.cioaba@spotonearth.com
# ...then adapted for latest version of 64 bit flash by voodoologic
# headley.douglas@gmail.com

echo "Stopping any Firefox that might be running"
sudo killall -9 firefox

echo "Removing any other flash plugin previously installed:"
sudo apt-get remove -y --purge flashplugin-nonfree gnash gnash-common mozilla-plugin-gnash swfdec-mozilla libflashsupport nspluginwrapper
sudo rm -f /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/*flash*
sudo rm -f ~/.mozilla/plugins/*flash*
sudo rm -f /usr/lib/firefox/plugins/*flash*
sudo rm -f /usr/lib/firefox-addons/plugins/*flash*
sudo rm -rfd /usr/lib/nspluginwrapper

echo "Installing Flash Player 10"
cd ~
wget http://download.macromedia.com/pub/labs/flashplayer10/libflashplayer-10.0.45.2.linux-x86_64.so.tar.gz
tar zxvf libflashplayer-10.0.45.2.linux-x86_64.so.tar.gz
sudo cp libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/

echo "Linking the libraries so Firefox and apps depending on XULRunner (vuze, liferea, rsswol) can find it."
sudo ln -sf /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/firefox-addons/plugins/
sudo ln -sf /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/xulrunner-addons/plugins/

# now doing some cleaning up:
sudo rm -rf libflashplayer.so
sudo rm -rf libflashplayer-10.0.45.2.linux-x86_64.so.tar.gz

better privacy add-on breaks delicious bookmarks. A fix

2009-12-23T16:05:00.000-08:00

If you've tried the better privacy add-on for firefox and you have a delicious account, you'll find it breaks your cookies that log you in to your delicious account. Even after you've uninstalled the plugin - it still breaks delicious.

The easy fix. After uninstalling the better privacy add-on, in your address bar type about:config. click the button to say, "ok, I won't break anything." Next, in the filter bar at he top, type in delicious. you'll find a line that says:

extensions.ybookmarks@yahoo.delicious.logout.status

change this value to "keep" without quotes.

done!

Geek 2.0

2009-09-08T17:20:00.001-07:00

I think they missed the mark. I know geek is becoming cool, but something has got to differentiate true geeks from geek chic.

really, anyone?

D9C

Wordpress permission tip: b4 uploading to server

2009-09-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a great tip for Wordpress users who have a linux server. To help from becoming hacked, your files and folders need to have certain permissions so that they can't be edited without your knowledge.

In order to set your permissions, some may instinctively choose an FTP client. This is ridiculously harder than it needs to be. I've found the easiest way is to use two shell commands: find and chmod.

I setup my wordpress files by Installing XAMPP, that way I have a nice environment (localhost) to test, edit, and tweak my webpage. I don't have to worry about somebody messing with my files.

When it was time to migrate my wordpress to my host, I want to change the file and folder permissions to what is prescribed by Wordpress. There are over 4,000 files in several directories, a daunting task for an FTP program -- but not for the command line!

In the command line:
chmod -R 755 /your/directory/

will change the permission of all files "recursively" (it will drill down into the sub-directories). Depending on if you own the file, you may need to run sudo in front of this command (sudo chmod...)

Every file and folder will have the permission setting of 755. This is only half the trick.

Next we are going to make all the files 644.

The following will recursively search your directory tree (starting at the current directory) and chmod 644 all files only:

find ./ -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

After I've run these commands, I can then upload them to my hosting site with all the correct permissions. Or, if you ssh'd into your server, you're already done. Compare that to an hour or two of mouse clicking or having a hackable webpage. >_<

As I write this, I tried to upgrade my 1and1 hosting plan to "business" so that I could ssh in to my server and tinker using the command line. But alas, they are closed for the holiday.

D9C

64bit native flash driver ubuntu linux

2009-08-17T18:20:00.001-07:00

Adobe fixed a bug I was tracking and released an update to their 64bit native flash for Linux. I've updated the code located on a very useful post to give you this bash script. Open up your favorite text editor and paste the contents below. Save the file and (from the command line) use chmod +x to make it executable. After that, execute the file with: ./yourfilename


#!/bin/bash
# Script  created by
# Romeo-Adrian Cioaba romeo.cioaba@spotonearth.com
# ...then adapted for latest version of 64 bit flash by voodoologic
# headley.douglas@gmail.com

echo "Stopping any Firefox that might be running"
sudo killall -9 firefox

echo "Removing any other flash plugin previously installed:"
sudo apt-get remove -y --purge flashplugin-nonfree gnash gnash-common mozilla-plugin-gnash swfdec-mozilla libflashsupport nspluginwrapper
sudo rm -f /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/*flash*
sudo rm -f ~/.mozilla/plugins/*flash*
sudo rm -f /usr/lib/firefox/plugins/*flash*
sudo rm -f /usr/lib/firefox-addons/plugins/*flash*
sudo rm -rfd /usr/lib/nspluginwrapper


echo "Installing Flash Player 10"
cd ~
wget http://download.macromedia.com/pub/labs/flashplayer10/libflashplayer-10.0.32.18.linux-x86_64.so.tar.gz
tar zxvf libflashplayer-10.0.32.18.linux-x86_64.so.tar.gz
sudo cp libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/

echo "Linking the libraries so Firefox and apps depending on XULRunner (vuze, liferea, rsswol) can find it."
sudo ln -sf /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/firefox-addons/plugins/
sudo ln -sf /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libflashplayer.so  /usr/lib/xulrunner-addons/plugins/

# now doing some cleaning up:
sudo rm -rf libflashplayer.so
sudo rm -rf libflashplayer-10.0.32.18.linux-x86_64.so.tar.gz

You can now restart firefox.

Truth of the matter is that the this version of flash still doesn't work, I'm sure it works better for some applications and is more secure. But as I type this I still can't play the song I want to hear on imeem.com.

D9C

Rugby Live from Treasure Island

2009-08-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

I am producing the ustream.tv broadcast of the Women's National Rugby 7's Invitational.

Video chat rooms at Ustream

This project has a shoestring budget. Please tweet the details when twitter comes back from a denial of service attack.

Fanboy & Evangalist Weighs in on Moonlight and Chrome OS

2009-07-05T17:17:00.000-07:00

When I convince a friend to put Ubuntu on their older computer, I inevitably get asked if it can do everything that Windows can do. My response will include, "Yes, except play your Netflix Instant Watch movies."

In Linux adoption, this shortcoming becomes the lynch pin: a good avenue in which to deny Linux a fair shake. Consequently, instead of installing Linux, I endThis process can take days and will still not compare to a clean XP install. I don't start to seriously lament until I am scanning their computer for viruses for the first time since 2004. But, I digress.

Mono, and subsequently Moonlight, represent Linux's pursuit for compatibility. In Battlestar Galactica, Cylon technology was incorporated into human technology; MS and Linux need to wage peace. In the end, the evil Cylons are going to die off. Long live the hybrids!

Speaking of hybrids...

Google Chrome OS is going to flip the industry on it's head. It's has the business leverage of Microsoft with the glory that is open source. I predict the OS will become the catalyst needed to get hardware companies to make open source drivers. Who knows, maybe retail games will jump on board.

Until Microsoft ports their DRM stacks over to Linux, I'm just going to wait and watch Netflix Instant Watch with an XBMC hack. But, for the group of people who want Ubuntu to "just work," mono development seems to be the path to integration: dark and stormy as it may be.

If R2D2 can't plug into the Deathstar's computer mainframe, we all lose.

D9C

Thieves, Dreams, and Dawkins

2009-06-26T00:13:00.000-07:00

My Weird Day

I went to the store to buy some provisions for my sick girlfriend. While in the produce isle, I spotted a elderly man putting what appeared to be produce in his jacket. In seeking some bullion, I also did some soul searching about my moral obligations.

With some quick typing on my quirty keyboard, I directed the checker to read my note, "I think the guy in the trench coat is stealing" The message was received, I payed for my groceries and left.

After caring for my girlfriend, I managed to purposefully pass by the store without peering in, but noticed a cop car parked in the corner. My walk home was filled with the contemplation of the old man's guilt and the driving force that motivated my reaction.

Later, I passed out for several hours. My dreams centered around having a broken neck and included night paralysis. A four hour affair.

My day ended with fighting with my roommate, cooking chicken noodle soup, then surfing the web. I watched a Richard Dawkins youtube video (my roommate is a rabid fan).

My roommate's description of Dawkins rivals an epiphany of logic. I can see how his thesis on neo-purpose (29:26) makes sense. My actions at the grocery store were morally driven and served a neo-purpose. Dawkins' goes on to say that neo-purpose may be subverted by virtue of it's flexibility.

One can argue the same is true of religion. It provides moral foundation to which people can realize their own neo-purpose in an environment that champions life. Of course, it can be a double-edged sword. Dawkins' decides to fault religion rather than look at it objectively. I regard it as painfully biased and unscientific.

I don't disagree with his model, but he asks that I forsake religion. Why is that necessary? Dawkins' says to me, my way describes life as without purpose. By the way, cast aside your God/religion.

I can prescribe to Dawkins' description of human evolution. However, it does not offer me values, or the fortitude to defend those values. I become the indifferent shopper. I might turn you in if I feel your stealing with change the price of my goods. That's ass-backwards to me.

Obama at White House Correspondents' Dinner - Hulu

2009-05-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

retweet hack - add text to someone's retweet

2009-05-07T13:48:00.000-07:00

I'd like to share how I, a common user, can send hyperlinks that will link to twitter and add text to the input box. I learned this trick by looking at twitter_tips. In the example, the retweet URL will bring the user to their twitter homepage and pre-enter their tweet with the wordage. Take the hyperlink from the example above and input it in longurl.com.

My example:

Twitter the women's sevens tournament

Why would you want to do this.

This can best be summed up as it helps your event or link become "viral."

Three reason you'd want to do this. One, it lowers the barrier to participation. This means rugby players -or anyone- can now promote your event without trying (two clicks). the easier it is, the more likely people are to retweet. and the more likely they retweet, the more your message gets out there.

The second reason is message consistency. You will be controlling the message, linkage and grammar.

Third, most rugby players AREN'T Twitter users, the ones who are, haven't logged onto their account since they heard it mentioned on Jon Stewart. A single hyperlink will bring the user to the loggon screen and place your message in the input box.

If you want to do this to:

type the words you want your twitters to enter on a text editor/word processor.
place this text into this site here (input boxes on the bottom of the page). Now you have the correct syntax.
make a link in your email or tweet or tinyurl that includes your message (from #2) preceded by: http://twitter.com/home?status=
If it's going on twitter, then the link should be shortened. I recommend burnurl.com because it lets you track the clicks and offers options to share.
Use this hyperlink in emails or directly on twitter.

D9C

download and save music from myspace, playlist.com and last.fm

2009-03-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

Rip songs from Myspace, playlist.com, and last.fm -

This is much simpler than any other method I found.
I've been having a lot of fun with this trick for a while. While posting this might eventually lead to more people using it the music distributors catching on, and eventually leading to the demise of this hack- I can't not share it with the people who read my blog.
**for informational purposes only**

Myspace:

What you'll need:

Firefox
Downloadhelper add-on

Once the add-on is installed, visit any Myspace page with music. Play the song that you wish to download. At this point the downloadhelper button will detect the mp3 and start to animate. Next, there is a drop down menu arrow just to the right of the button. Pushing it will reveal the name of the mp3 file. Click on the file and a window will open allowing you to save the song. All the artist and album information are stored in mp3 itself. Still, I recommend renaming the mp3, it will make finding the file from the others you download much easier later on.

Playlist.com
What you'll need:

Firefox
Downloadhelper add-on

This is the exact same approach. but on playlist.com you can locate pretty specific MP3s without all the myspace CRAPPY personalized designs and bloated code to sift through. Good news everyone! Sony has just made all their recording artists available to playlist.com!

Last.fm

What you'll need:

Firefox
Downloadhelper add-on
a Last.fm account
Fire.fm add-on

This technique is a bit more of a hack than the others. While the last.fm library is huge, it has many protections setup to keep downloadhelper from working all the time. When you set up an account fire.fm is a great add-on to Firefox to give you a pandora.com experience, delivering full songs (instead of 30 second snippets) through your browser. It also is easier for downloadhelper to detect the mp3. Just let the music play and hit the download button as soon as you hear a song want to download.

D9C

5 steps to becoming a web 2.0 early adopter

2009-03-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

The VoodooLogic Method to becoming an early adopter:

I feel my method is as bare-bones as in order to surf sites quickly, organize your account credentials, publish and share your findings.

I wrote this because it's become apparent that there are so many applications out there that end users don't need to be techie to create really cool/useful sites. We are digital DJ's, mixing user apps on web pages to rock our audience. All you need is a good sense of style and utility to dive in. And now is a great time to be an early adopter who is well versed in the best the web has to offer. Have fun being a power user and remember, never pay for software.

I am assuming you have plenty of social networks that you enjoy using. If not, you won't really care about Web 2.o.

1. Firefox

Firefox is a highly customizable browser. The additional add-ons help you customize your browsing experience. The best way I've heard Firefox explained is that it is like vanilla ice cream and its add-ons that act like toppings to make the browser a real treat.

2. StumbleUpon- surfing with speed

StumbleUpon is an add-on for Firefox and is the essential key to this post. Based on some initial criteria you set, Stumbleupon will display a random site with a click of a button. It gets rave reviews on the web and with the right settings you can become a guru.

Setup your account and select some interests. Make sure to include web development, Internet tools, and Firefox. Additionally, select humor - because it's funny. :P

That's pretty much all you need. By pressing thumbs up, you direct traffic to those sites you like. While at the office, you can stumble 3 pages in the time it takes to print an average work document. Even the busiest person can passively surf through the bleeding edge of the Internet. This kind of frequency lets you peruse websites quickly and getting to the real web gems. (You can even give this post a thumbs up!!)

3. Keepass

Once you discover a site to try, Keypass is going to help you keep your account user-names and passwords organized.

**But you can't leave it there. You'll need to prove among your friends you know what's cool right now.**

4. Delicious

Set up an account. Next, add the delicious firefox add-on. Now, you aren't just pressing "thumbs up," now you can catalog sites you like into your personal online bookmarking system.

Great, now we've created two layers of bookmarking. Stumbleupon's 'thumbs up' (an RSS feed) and delicisious' bookmarks for when you want to return to a site. The add-on also integrates your browser's bookmarks with your delicious account.

**This is the next layer is going to solidify your reputation of being a someone who's always in the know.**

5. Sharaholic

I really like the sharaholic add-on. make tagging websites your various social networks easy. real easy. This tool give you simple access to your social networks to share your web-app gold.

"As a certified social networking and link-sharing addict, Shareaholic has become my favorite new enabler!"
- Veronica Belmont, Host of Tekzilla on Revision3 and Qore on PSN

This 5 pieces of software are layered by relevance. Firefox being the most critical because it is the platform I built the entire model on.

There are many other ways of familiarizing yourself with the latest technology. For instance, I could tell you to bookmark an RSS feed like Makeuseof.com, this is a very informative site that lets you check out lots of new stuff. However, my strategy incorporates this by bookmarking these feeds in delicious as you stumble them. I would consider this to be another layer of relevancy that is a bit too cumbersome for my bare-bones method.

D9C

Also, be sure to check out Linux as a free desktop solution. I've found it an adequate alternative to Windows XP and Vista for several years now. I'm just waiting for everyone else to catch on to the trend. ;)

Passion and Patience - Building Personal Brand Within the Social Media Landscape

2009-03-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

Motivating words from the person knows his shit. Now that I'm living the unemployed dream, I'm going to need to refer back to this video get motivated.

But do you know someone else who has got his hustle on: my friend Ethan, http://wsyk.opensermo.com/ Each of these guys are on the same energy wavelengths.

D9C

Jock/Nerd update for February

2009-02-26T12:02:00.001-08:00

Nerd
Well, I'm unemployed and making money under the table helping people with their XP laptops. Tomorrow I help a friend reinstall Windows and I'm anxious to try some new software: Windows Post-Install Wizard.

I used Magicical Jelly Bean to find the lost XP key and a pirated copy of the software get it a legit copy reinstalled. The goal is to make Windows XP work again despite the efforts of well, Windows XP and Microsoft.

BTW, If I hadn't given Majorgeeks.com any props, then I really should now. Everything a newly installed XP system should have can be found there.

Spybot
AVG free
Advanced System Care
Firefox
iTunes
Adobe Flash
Final Burner
Java Runtime 6

Jock
Last Saturday, we beat the highest ranked team in our league - Something the Fog has never done. Our current record is now 2 and 3. With no signs of slowing down, we may be able to pull off a winning season.

My face is just starting to heal from the bruses and cuts from Saturday's win. A memorable point for me was during a ruck, someone on the other team tried to two-handedly twist my ankle. I got to my feet and draged him out of the ruck by his collar. I waited with one fist clenching his jersey and the other hovering over his head for him to strike me first. The ref blew his whistle before he he could connect. No yellow cards were issued and my point was made - Don't f*ck with me.

update: The video size limitations are pushing me to use Google video for our games (4 gigs). While I hate putting all our eggs in one basket, it would appear to be the most practical for me because acidrip/viddler solution gives me a poor quality for exchange of in-line comments that nobody uses. :-(

I'd rather build it myself than pay $$$ for a P.O.S.

2009-02-11T12:10:00.000-08:00

Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work

So I saw this video today and LMAO. Fortunately for me, I'm banging my head against the wall trying to build my own digital media fucking piece of shit. It's much more rewarding. =)

My links for building your own fucking piece of useless shit.
http://trailfire.com/voodoologic/trails/65902

This project was conceived in June of '08 and is roughly about 20% complete.

D9C

Jock/Nerd update for January

2009-01-25T12:36:00.000-08:00

Jock
Yesterday, the San Francisco Fog won it's first game in over a year and a half. In addition, I can now put Flanker on my resume of positions I can play. I predict that winning will become easier now that we have a taste of victory.

If I want to get more muscle mass, I have to start working out again. Which may not be a bad idea once a week or so in addition to Tuesday and Thursday practice.

I am toying with using viddler.com to host our games online.

I am getting negative feed back from influential people who think posting our game online is a bad idea. First, they think the game videos could be studied and used against us. Second, some feel that the ability to let anyone comment may not be wise. If anyone can comment on the game footage, then good game commentary might get lost among terrible game commentary.

The compromise might be to let only certain people comment on the game and then later releasing the games + commentary to everyone else later. Some level of exclusivity is probably the best route to get a good service adopted. In the end, I feel that the viddler service could help give players access to game footage which is a great tool that The Fog could utilize.

Nerd.
Nerd stuff is going slow. Now that rugby takes up most of my time, I am unable to work on my projects. right now I'm stuck on two points. Making a cat 5 cable and troubleshooting the software that controls my Haupauge 1600 . After these problems are solved, I will need to figure out how to use my modified xbox as a MythTV front-end for my home TV. Also, I purchased a year subscription to Schedules Direct to fill in the names of shows on each of the channels.

Linux has been treating me really well. I'm learning that there is an acceptable amount of bloat that I am willing to tolerate for the eye-candy desktop on my aging computer. I'm running Half-Life 2 very well with Wine and looking forward to beating it and playing the two expansion episodes.

D9C